


Enemy of My Enemy

by Talinor



Series: Keitor Week 2017 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brief Mentions of Slavery, Druid Experiment Keith (Voltron), General Keith (Voltron), Keitor Week, Kinda, Liberation, M/M, Recruitment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 00:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12544956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Keitor Week- Day 1: Half Galra"So tell me," he tilted his head as far as he could manage with the thick collar tight around his neck. "What am I to you potentially? A source of entertainment? A pet? A bargaining chip for your father?"Lotor chuckled at that. The prisoner raised an unimpressed brow. "Believe you me," he assured. "I harbor no love for my father. Anyone who can justify doing this to a person is an uttermonster."he reached out to undo the restraints on the prisoner's hands. A complete shot in the dark. "No," he noted briefly the subtle shift into interest in those judging eyes. "I'm here to give you an offer you likely won't refuse."





	Enemy of My Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally keitor week!! I'm so excited to see what people come up with for the prompts!!  
> that being said, respite's update is delayed until next sunday due to time constraints (it's only at like 1.6k words right now, done over the course of a very busy week) but I h all my keitor week works done already, so I d have anything else to work on!  
> Enjoy!!

Lotor walked through the lower halls of the ship calmly, despite his slightly unsettling surroundings. The gunfire floors above him had finally stopped. The walls vibrated with the thrumming of the ship's engines constantly. Some kind of scare tactic, he imagined, to constantly remind the formerly-rebellious souls in the cells he passed by of one simple thing- that they belonged to the Empire now. Subtle and twisted, yet effective.

 

Other than the sound of his boots against the cold and unforgiving floor- streaked with dirt and littered with drops of assorted blood from many different races- the hall was quiet. The prisoners he passed by mainly cowered in the corners of their cramped cells, hiding their faces from him. Like broken children, believing nothing could harm them if they couldn't see. 

 

A pang of sympathy struck at his chest at the general air of distress and despair of his surroundings. Poor things. After he got what they were there for, perhaps he could arrange for the ship to head for one of his few allied colonies. In fact...

 

He turned on his comm. "Generals," he said. "Have all the slave traders been eliminated yet?"

 

"Yes sir," Zethrid was the first to call back in. "All hostiles up here but one are terminated. Have you gotten to him yet?"

 

"Coming up on his door as we speak," he said truthfully. "Narti, get our _dear friend_ to open up all the doors on this deck. After that, I imagine we won't need him anymore." He noted the Druidic wards around the thick dark door. This was definitely what he was looking for. "Dispense the armor, weapons, and GAC of the deceased among the prisoners. I'll be back up there shortly."

 

"Very well," Acxa told him. "Until then, sir."

 

For the following moments, Lotor did the only things he really could- wait and observe. The Druidic wards outlining the door frame glowed faintly with energy in the darkened corridor, signaling they were still active. It made sense considering what horror stories he'd heard of what lay inside.

 

Stories described them like they were a cryptic creature, a monster that could flay you alive with just a simple graze of skin or other bone-chilling abilities. Something that needed to be kept in proper check at all times until dear Father's forces finally 'domesticated' it. Until it could be used as a tool for the Empire.

 

Upon closer investigation, though, Lotor had found some... _interesting_ information on them. 'It' was not some horrible monster made of shadows, long claws and teeth. 'It' was not a mere hateful creature to be tamed and turned into Zarkon and his witch's next attack pet to throw at Voltron.

 

'It' was a _person._ A very young abductee from a populated planet in some backwater solar system the Empire hadn't really touched yet. A slave, commonly passed from one loyal Galra Commander to another. All trying in vain to break his fiery rebellious spirit until they got tired of doing so and passed him to the Druids for experimentation.

 

It was then that his Galra heritage was revealed. It made him surprisingly resilient, and his will unexpectedly strong. Like any other being, he was dedicated to one thing and one thing only- survival. Pulling through the tragedies of today to see yet another tomorrow. The rest of the story leading up to this point is pretty obvious from there.

 

He could only wonder one thing about the runes, though- were they designed to keep intruders like Lotor out... Or to keep the inhabitant in?

 

He seemed likely to get his answer soon. The energy fields serving as prison doors dissipated into nothingness in rapid succession. The many locks on the door ahead were slower, layers upon layers of security unraveling one by one. It would probably take a minute or so to fully unlock.

 

Meanwhile, prisoners started to cautiously venture out of their newly-opened cells. He watched most of them flinch deeply at the lone cracking shot that rang out from above. A few looked to him with bleary, wide-eyed concern.

 

"Do not worry," he told them slowly. "Those were my friends. We are going to help you. Get to the upper levels. They'll give you some supplies and we'll send all of you on your free way. Go. Tell those on the higher levels."

 

They only perked up at 'free.' He saw sparks of cautious hope ignite in several of their eyes. The ones who still looked hesitant were pretty much dragged into the sea of excitement heading up the steps. Quickly leaving him alone to quickly deal with the wards.

 

Mother didn't teach him much, but she definitely taught him that. Oh, how she'd likely regret it if she could see him now. About to hopefully ally with the most dangerous fugitive in the Empire's grasp.

 

The wards dissipated into white dragging wisps of smoke under practiced fingertips. All the locks finally unlocked as he did so, but he barely even acknowledged it until he was done dismissing the magic. Such a task required absolute concentration in order not to backfire in some horrible way.

 

Thankfully, he managed so. With nothing else in his way, he opened the door to see exactly what he was there for.

 

The prisoner was heavily restrained unlike any other he'd seen. That fact didn't really surprise him, but the drastic degree they went to in restraining the poor man certainly did. The restraints on were thick and bulky, especially on such a small pale frame. They were all strung together by thick purple energy chains, giving the room a not-so-subtle glow.

 

His head was slumped down as far as he could manage and hadn't moved, long and messy void-colored hair working well to cover up his face. His frame was lithe and lean, signifying a likely agile fighter underneath the tight metal coiled about him. Scars littered the skin he could see underneath the usual Galra prisoner uniform. Most were old and faded- much tougher to notice- but some were fresh. New and red, likely his blood color.

 

"You're here to kill me," his head finally tilted up to show his subtly tired face. Dark purple eyes opened and glanced up to him with pure apathy. They would seem regular to most, but he could see what most couldn't- the lingering hint of power hidden like a predator waiting to pounce. They radiated with an air of something else... Something intelligent and unfathomably _ancient._ "Aren't you?"

 

"No," he said, casually sauntering over. "I assure you, I'm not here to hurt you." He met the prisoner's hard gaze with absolute confidence.

 

He looked Lotor up and down for a moment. "I see your words hold the weight of truth," the prisoner admitted. "But I also see who you really are, _Prince Lotor,"_ his eyes narrowed as he spit the name out like pure poison. "So tell me," he tilted his head as far as he could manage with the thick collar tight around his neck. "What am I to you potentially? A source of entertainment? A pet? A bargaining chip for your father?"

 

Lotor chuckled at that. The prisoner raised an unimpressed brow. "Believe you me," he assured. "I harbor no love for my father. Anyone who can justify doing this to a person is an utter _monster."_ he reached out to undo the restraints on the prisoner's hands. A complete shot in the dark. "No," he noted briefly the subtle shift into interest in those judging eyes. "I'm here to give you an offer you likely won't refuse."

 

"Oh?" a thick black brow raised. Those stormy eyes kept glancing up into Lotor's then to his own almost-free hands with an unreadable look. "And what would that be?"

 

The sleek slabs of metal enveloping up to half of his forearm finally clicked open, falling to the floor with a loud clanging sound. They revealed lilac skin up to the wrists littered with a few small non-magic Druidic markings on the palms. His claws were flat and small, likely intentionally. His overseers probably filed them down to make him less of a threat.

 

The prisoner stretched and moved his newly freed hands. Observed them like he was seeing them for the first time in a long while. Mild interest shone in his eyes. Likely the best mood Lotor would be able to evoke from him at the moment. He finally looked back to the prince. "I'm... intrigued," he admitted despite the wall of wariness rising. "What's your point to this, though?"

 

Lotor smiled and extended a hand out for the prisoner. "I want you to join me," he offered. "I have a group of allies made up of half-Galra like ourselves dedicated to striking back at the Empire. I believed that we needed someone like you on our team. We get a new ally, and you get security and a second chance."

 

He hummed in consideration. "Sounds too good to be true," he said. "And if I refuse your generous offer? What happens to me then?"

 

Lotor shrugged. "I will respect your wishes," he told him. "And leave to let you undo the rest of the restraints by yourself. When this ship arrives at a non-Empire colony planet, you'll get a new opportunity at life like everyone else." He met the prisoner's gaze. "But you will be completely on your own, likely on the run constantly from the Empire or hiding from it however you can. And you will probably never see me again." He raised a brow and his offered hand a bit. "So...?"

 

The prisoner's brows furrowed at that. He could practically see the wheels turning quickly in his head. Considering his options, looking over the hand of cards he'd been dealt. He certainly knew that either way, this decision was going to affect the rest of his life. No matter how long that could be.

 

Finally, he sighed and took Lotor's hand. "I accept," he said, his eyes going out of focus for a moment. "And now I see you really mean it, so consider it a deal, Lotor." He gave the prince a small tired smile. "And before you ask, the name's Keith. Keith Kogane."

 

He'd been just about to ask. His brows raised in slight surprise, but quickly shook out of it. At least now he knew Keith and Narti were probably going to get along. He gave Keith a welcoming smile. "Well Kogane," he said. "Welcome to the team. Allow me to assist with the rest of your restraints."

**Author's Note:**

> comments are always appreciated!  
> my tumblr: squishy--squish


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